Roasted carrots with fresh ginger and orange

I do love roast vegetables. They are a regular feature on our dinner table – roasted carrots, beetroots, parsnips, butternut squash and pumpkin in the autumn and winter, and then aubergines, courgettes (zucchini), peppers, shallots and more in the summer. They are so simple to make, and so delicious! Roasting concentrates the flavours, you get all the glorious maillard-reaction caramelisation on the surface, and let’s face it, a generous glug of oil helps the taste along too. Yum yum yum.

But, since we eat them pretty often, I like to add different seasonings and spices, and experiment with new combinations, just to keep things interesting. Some experiments work better than others. We usually eat them anyway, but not always with complete enthusiasm…

Still, these roasted carrots were definitely a success! I’m getting very into ginger at the moment – both fresh and dried. It seems to be a very autumnal, warming spice, and it goes beautifully with many of the vegetables of the season, like pumpkin, squash and carrots. I use it in my parsnip soup, for instance, in this gorgeous autumn slaw, and in these sticky baked aubergines & sweet potatoes. It adds a delicious spicy flavour whenever you use it.

The orange zest was a bit of a gamble, but I like the way it turned out. Zesty.

Kipper loves roasted carrots, whether they’re plain or fancy or spicy or whatever. She ate these almost to the exclusion of the rest of her dinner. As a result, we ate the lot between the three of us, and would probably have eaten more. Serves 2-3? Or thereabouts.

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Roasted carrots with fresh ginger and orange

Ingredients

650gcarrots(approx 6 large carrots)

2-3tbspolive oil

1-2cmpiece of root ginger

zest of half an orange

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

Peel the carrots. Cut each one into halves widthways, then each piece in half lengthways. If your carrots are very thick, you may like to cut each piece lengthwise again. Place the carrot pieces in a roasting dish and pour over the oil.

Peel and grate the root ginger and add to the carrots with the orange zest. Mix everything together well so that the carrots are coated in the oil, ginger and zest.

Roast in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until the carrots are soft and starting to brown. Serve immediately.